The Power of Song Inc., MLK Day of Service host Dr. Clayborne Carson talk

The Power of Song Inc. in partnership with the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Advisory Board will host a conversation with Stanford University history professor Dr. Clayborne Carson, director of the Dr. Martin Luther King Research and Education Institute.

The free public event will be held 4 p.m. Jan. 9, 2017 at the St. Petersburg College Allstate Center. University of South Florida history professor Dr. Ray Arsenault and Dr. Roy Peter Clark, senior faculty and vice president of The Poynter Institute, will moderate the event.

Carson was commissioned personally by Coretta Scott King in 1985 to edit Martin Luther King's papers after his leading role as general editor of the Eyes on the Prize documentary that won an Emmy Award and was nominated for an Academy Award. The audio version of his edition of The Autobiography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. won a Grammy Award.

Carson has written and edited dozens of books and articles. He has appeared on some of the nation's most prominent news, commentary and talk shows, including Oprah, CNN, Good Morning America, the CBS Evening News and NPR. He has met with international figures such as the Dali Lama. His play, Passages of Martin Luther King traveled to Beijing, China,  East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Carson's talk is part of the kick-off weekend for the Day of Service volunteer programs. The kick-off is produced by The Power of Song and includes the hit production Sounds of the Civil Rights Movement: The Power of Song. Carson was an inspiration for the production, written by September Penn, the CEO of The Power of Song.

The Allstate Center is located at 3200 34th St S, St. Petersburg, FL 33711.